Performance Testing of a Novel Neonatal Warming Wrap in the Prevention of Hypothermia

Hypothermia is defined as a condition in which the body core temperature falls below 35.0oC and it is known to be the leading cause of death amongst neonates, with 99% of deaths occurring in developing nations. There is a need to identify a low cost healthcare intervention at birth to regulate body temperature for low birthweight and premature infants. Surveying current birthing practices in low resource areas, occlusive skin wraps made of polyethylene have been considered for such settings. The use of polyethylene skin wraps has been studied and tested for the past few decades with some existing commercial products. However, these products are still too expensive for most of the targeted areas, motivating the need to design a suitable solution. In this project, the efficacy of the novel Neonatal Warming Wrap (NWWrap) has been tested experimentally and compared with current alternatives. The experimental setup includes four small bags filled with rice which are heated up and then left to mimic the drop in temperature that would be experienced by an infant with no thermoregulatory intervention. The loss of heat is continuously recorded using National Instruments J-type thermocouples and a DATAQ Instruments DI-145 data acquisition system. Three rice bags are then wrapped using a t-shirt bag, a NeoDrapeTM and the NWWrap prototype while the fourth is left unwrapped. The heat profiles have been modeled using equations for natural convective heat loss and the heat flux density has been calculated and averaged for a sample of 5 trials. The results have shown the NWWrap works better at insulation than the other two alternatives studied. Proceeding with these favorable results, a proposal to perform clinical trials to obtain qualitative and quantitative data about the product is pending before the Institutional Review Board (IRB). With the help of the team at the Medical Accelerator for Devices Lab (MAD Lab) research has been conducted on optimal designs and costs involved in manufacturing. These steps are being taken towards commercializing the product.